Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower

Sound description

Experimental, confrontational, garage punk with noisy guitars, jazzy saxophones, and a vocalist who screams as much as sings.

RIYL

Fugazi, Swing Kids, Refused

Inception

San Diego , 2000

Influences

Fugazi, At the Drive-In, the Locust, Pinback, Swing Kids, the Blood Brothers, Refused, Peter Brotzmann, the Flying Luttenbachers

Discography

Sponsored

"We're a gang of Jews and homosexuals [who] draw our main inspiration from the rioting queers at Stonewall, babies throwing temper tantrums, the Hell's Angels at Altamont, and really ugly, greasy sex noises," according to Brandon Welchez, singer/saxophonist for the Plot. "We're proud of that piss waterfall that got us banned in Baltimore. So we took the [band] name from a book by rock critic Greil Marcus called Lipstick Traces, because we figured he might write about us if we plagiarized him."

During a 2005 European tour, complaints about the Plot were reported by European booking agents 2 for the Road. They hired the band to play several German dates in April. The group's new album at the time, Love in the Fascist Brothel, included song titles such as "Reich Stag Rock," "Lipstick SS," and "Rattus Über Alles."

Addressing the concerned, 2 for the Road posted a notice on its website: "The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower are not Nazis [and they] are not German, which means that they can naturally address our Nazi background differently than we do.... We talked to them about their stage outfits and, over here, they will not appear in the same radical [Nazi-inspired] outfits they wear onstage in the U.S., to show respect. They know that they are guests here and will behave accordingly. But they have decided to address the Nazi issue on their new record and therefore a certain degree of confrontation cannot be avoided...the Plot make fun of Nazis."

In response, the Plot posted on their website "The idea scattered across Love in the Fascist Brothel is that fascism, far from being defeated in 1945, simply went underground, where it now functions as the political unconscious of the West...a real neo-Nazi would be disgusted by our sexual stage antics, Jewish and gay band members, our music, our absurdist art."

Recalling offbeat tour experiences, Welchez mentions hitting a Utah stage in skin-tight pants, faux-fur coats, and mascara.

"This didn't sit well with the conservatism of half the crowd, who immediately started heckling us.... One of them came up to the stage and was yelling things, so I spat in his face. After our last song, a group of 15 to 20 armed Mormon jocks gathered.... One of them had keys in his fist and punched our drummer's snare drum. One of them punched our drummer in the head, and I swung a cymbal stand at him.... I remember one of them looked me straight in the face and said, 'We've killed people before, and we'll do it again.'" Bar employees defused the brawl.

As for why the group was "banned in Baltimore," Welchez says, "Our roadie at the time was completely knackered. He was trying to make his way to the bathroom, which was upstairs, and he decided he didn't want to finish the walk.... We were ejected and told never to return and that we wouldn't work in Baltimore again. We found the tires to our van slashed once we got outside."

The Plot split in December 2006, playing their last show at the Che Cafe. Welchez said at the time "Me, Willy [Graves, bassist], and Brian [Hill, drummer] have the Prayers, and we have a four-song EP coming out early next year.... Me and Chuck [Rowell, guitarist] are doing the Vultures, and we're writing an album." The Plot's final release was the seven-song EP Saviours and Suckers.

Bassist Willy Graves passed away in September '08.

Sponsored

Upcoming Local Shows

No shows scheduled

Post a show
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.